1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a mobile device for monitoring devices in home.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the rapid development of wired and wireless data communication technology and the proliferation of communication networks that are the foundations thereof, a high-speed communication service, such as the Internet, has become popular lately. In particular, as the Internet is supplied to homes, existing personal computer (PC)-based network building technology is being developed as home network technology for enabling control of digital information home appliances in a home at a remote site.
In a home network system, digital home appliances, sensors, lighting fixtures, an air-conditioning system, gas equipment, etc. installed in a home are connected via a wired network or a wireless network, so that a user may control desired devices any time anywhere.
Such a home network system generally includes a home server (or home monitoring gateway) performing functions of a master, a plurality of home network devices (referred to as “control-target devices” below) monitored and controlled by the home server, and a control device monitoring and controlling the plurality of control-target devices through only a connection with the home server inside or outside a home.
In general, the home server is implemented in a home residential gateway (RG) or a wall pad, and the control device is implemented in a wall pad, a television (TV), a cellular phone, a computer, and so on. The home server and the control device may be implemented in one device in an integrated fashion.
In this home network system, the home server may automatically recognize the control-target devices, for example, a TV, a refrigerator, an electric lamp, a microwave, a sensor, a boiler, and a washing machine, connected to the home network through various physical media (e.g., a power cable, serial communication conforming to RS-232, etc., and Ethernet) in the home, and displays the recognized home network devices on a screen so that a user may control a desired control-target device.
The control device performs monitoring and control of the plurality of control-target devices through communication with the home server.
The home server in this home network exchanges data with an external network that is mainly implemented as the Internet.
Outside the home, the user connects to the home server using a mobile device, such as a PC, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and a tablet PC, capable of connecting to the Internet, and then accesses the plurality of home appliances connected to the home network in the home.
When the control-target devices in the home are monitored and controlled using the mobile device, use of the mobile device involves selecting a control-target device, establishing a network connection with the control-target device, undergoing authentication, and then monitoring or controlling the control-target device, and thus is complicated.
For example, home appliances, such as an air conditioner or an air cleaner for air conditioning and a humidifier for adjusting humidity, are frequently operated and controlled together. To this end, a user separately gives operation control instructions to the respective home appliances every time, which is inconvenient and inefficient.